Controlling means for engine generator driven vehicles



H. LEMP.

CONIHOLLING' MEANS F0" ENGINE GENERATOR DRIVEN VEHICLES.

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Patented Aug. 12, 1919.

Inventor: Hermann Lem b9 Jkr l-Iis .fitto rneg.

' men of fuel thereto.

' .UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

man! man, 01' m ASBI GH' OB .00 GENERAL ELECTRIC comm, A OOBPOBLTIOF OF nnw YORK.

WG mm m Toall wlaomit I Be it known LW Lemma citizen of the United Stats, residing at Er e, in the county of Erie ,'State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new an, useful Improvements in Controlling e-Generator-Driven Vehicles, of which e following 'is a specification.

The present invention relates to selfropolled vehicles in which tion engine is I to drive an electric generator which in turn SUPPliiS current to one or more motors for driving the vehicle, such motors being commonly, mounted on 'the trucks. The speed of the vehicle is controlled by varying the strength of the field of the generator, and by connecting the motors in series or p el and varying the mistance in series therewith. The engine is controlled by varying the admis- Changes in the strength of the generator field and ch in the motor circuits are obtained by a controller. Assunling that-it be dwired to propel the vehicle at say -i0 miles pier hour, it can be axmmplished by moving e fuel-control lever to one position and the controller handle to another position. These 'tions of the fuel control lever and controller handle ploduce, as a net result, the desired speed of the vehicle. This may mean for example that the engine is running very rapidly; that a certain amount of resistance has been cut out of the field circuit of the generator and that the motors are connected in parallel with or without rsistance as This same vehicle the case may he. could, however, be thejhrotfle lever to to the en- 'instinthefieldcircuitofthe ferent relation of the motor cucults is produced,orboth. Tostatethematterinanother way, the same vehicle speed may be obtained by difierent settings of the contro devices, one of which is more economical 0 fuel than the other. From this it follows that the economical or' non-economical operation of the vehicle is left almost, if not entirely, to the operator whose judgment may or may notbe good.

An analogy is found inthe automobile art. The operator may utilize the high speed woman-manna. admen-11.1918. IerlalIloJflJlj.

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Patented Aug. 12, 1919.

geer,'and throttle the supply of gasolene to the the same below normal 5 to ve the esired of the velncle; or e ma utilize the intermediate or othergeer an run the engine faster on throttle to obtain; the same vehicle speed. For agiven condition one arran out is more economical than the other. mparafively few operators, however, are able to drive a, car under the most economical conditions all the time.

The object of my invention is to provide an improved arrangement wherein the en- V connections are automatically and pro 'vely controlled to ve the best conditions of operation for eac and all s of the vehicle and erticularlg to o tain aneoonomical eccefdratlon. further object is boprovide an arrangemenb wherein the parts are/s0 associated and combinedthnt a. single operatin handle sufiieestp control the setting of al For a. consideration of what I believe to be novel and my invention, attention is dirooted to the eccom ying description and the claims append thereto.

- In the drawing, Figure 1 is a view partly in section of a mechanism embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a pc 've view of certain par3s, and Fig. 3 is anhoutline of an e e riven generator wit a. system embdifglg my invention illustrated diagrammatically in connection therewith.

Referring to the drawing, Fig. 3, 5 indicates an internal combustion may be of any suitable type on operated by any suitable fuel. Inthe resent instance fueloilisshown, and 6 indwates a pump r supp] such fuel oil. The pump may-be opera from the ed crank shaft of the engine as is wel1 understood. Thespeedofsuchanengineisregulated varying the amount of fuel deilivered y the ump and this is accomplished in the pump own by moving the rod 7 up enddown. Bod'fisconnectedtoanarm 8 on the end of a shaft 9 (Fig 1 and as this shaft is turned, as expla hereinafter, rod 7 is moved to vary the output of the pumfilfi. The specific structure of pump 6 and e arrangement for varying the amount of fuel delivered thereb form no part of the present invention an the some are accordingly not illustrated or described.

e which Such pum are well known and it will be uncle that any suitable arrangement mig be used.

irect connected to engine is a generator which is electrically connected through a controller 11 to motors 12 which'as is well understood drive the car axles. The controller 11 may control only the field resistance or resistances or it may control both the -field resistance or resistances and the series parallel connections of the motors. 13 indicates a governor for the engine which governor may be of any suitable t Referring now particularly to Fig. 1, 0 speed governor 13 has a spindle 14 on which is splined a friction wheel 15 with its edge in engagement with the face of a friction disk lfi driven from the crank shaft of engine 5. Surroundi spindle 14 below friction wheel 15 is a eeve 15 in which the spindle turns and on which friction wheel 15 is rotatably mounted, and connected to sleeve 15' is a bell crank lever 17 by means of which the wheel 15 may be moved radially over the face of disk 16 toward and away from its center. As is clear, this am ment constitutes a change speed drive tween the on 'no and the governor. B movisk 16 it is possible while maintaining the governor at approximatel its most efiective range of speed, to contro the engine over the latters entire range of speed.

Connected to the upper end of governor spindle 14 is one end of a lever 18 pivoted at 19 and having its other end connected by a link 20 to a rod 21 which projects into a control casing 22. In casing 22 is a cylinder 23 havinga piston 24 therein, and a cylinder 25 having a piston 26 therein. Piston 24 is hollow and has connected to it a stem 27 which has a longitudinally extendin passage 28 therein communicating with tge inside of piston 24. Passage 28 terminates short of the outer end of stem 27 and in stem 27 adjacent the outer end of passage 28- is a transverse hole 29. Likewise piston 26 is hollow and has a stem 30 provided with a longitudinally extending passage 31 communicating at its inner end with the inside of piston 26 and at its outer end with a transverse hole 32 in stem 30. Arranged to slide on stems 27 and 30 are sleeves 33 and 34 respectively, which sleeves serve to cover and uncover holes 29 and 32. Sleeves 33 and 34 are connected by'arms 35 and 36 to rod 21, the arms bein fixed to rod 21 and having furcations whic engage between collais on the sleeves. By this arrangement it will be seen that the speed governor as it moves through its range moves sleeves 33 and 34 longitudinally on stems 27 and 30. The shaft 9 which has been previously referred to as controlling the admission of fuel to the engine has fixed thereon an arm 37 having a opposite 'o'n by spring 38 the amount offueladmittedtotheengineisdecreased.

The spring 38 thus constitutes a means which biases the control mechanism for fuel pump 6 toward of 'tion. It will be understood that the owing of spring 38 is only diagrammatic and that in actual practice a suitable arrangement of long range nearly constant torque type of spring would be utilized.

Carried in suitable. journals 40 (Fig. 2) is a shaft 41, one end of which projects into casing22andhasfixedtoitana1m42having a bifurcated end, the forks 06 which straddle stem 30 and rest on the end of pisten 26. Engaging arm 42 is a spring 43 which acts to force piston 26 toward the bottom of cylinder 25. Shaft 41 moves thecontroller 11 and as shown in Fig. 2, the shaft 18 provided with an arm 44 which projects between two spaced cars 45 carried by an arm 46 fixed to controller drum shaft, 47. Between arm 44 and cars 45 are springs 48 through which motion is imparted from arm 44 to arm 46. 011 controller drum shaft 47 is a star wheel 49 on which rides a spring pressed roller 50. The purpose of the arrangement just described .is to vs a step by ste movement to the control or and any suitab e arrangemeut'for this purpose may be utilized. With the arrangement shown, as shaft 41 turns it puts one or the other of the springs 48 under compression and when the power thus stored in the spring becomes suflicient the controller will be quickly turned .one notch as determined by star wheel 49.

Referring now to Fig. 1, the arrangement is such that when arm 42 moves in an anticlockwise direction, 13. a, when piston 26 moves downward, the controller 1 1 is moved toward on position, that is, itis moved to strengthen the generator field or to vary the motor connections or both in proper sequence as is well understood, while when it is moved by spring 43 in the opposite direction controller 11 is moved towardfirst or starting position. Spring 43 thus constitutes a means which biases the controller 11 toward first or starting position.

Connected to cylinder 23 and 25 are pressure pipes 51 and 52 respectively, which lead to a gear pump 53 which is operated by the engine and has a suction or inlet pipe 53. In pipes 51 and 52 are suitable non-return check valves 54 and 55. The gear pump 53 delivers oil or other suitable liquid under pressure to *both' cylinders 23 and 25 and under certain conditions the pressure may move pistons 24 and 26 to positions where the ends of stems 27-and 30 strike casing 22 which serves as a stop to limit the movements. To

' prevent undue pressure occurring in cylinders 23 and 25 suitable by-passes of limited area are arranged In connection with cylinder 23 a by-pass pipe 56 having a regulating valve 57 therein is shown. A similar arrangement is used in connection with cylinder 25 but only the b'y-pass opening 58 shows in the drawing. The arrangement will be readily understood, however, from I that shown in connection with cylinder23.'

Connec to hell crank lever 17 is one end of a rod 60 the other end of which is connected to an arm 61 fixed on a shaft 62. Also fixed to shaft 62 is an 0 rating handle 63 which moves over a note ed segment 64 and has a suitable latch 65 for locking the handle in adjusted position. By means of handle 63 friction wheel 15 is moved across the face of disk 16. Connected with ressure pi e 52 is a casing 66 in which is a valve 6 When valve 67 is open any pressure in pipe 52 or in cylinder 25 is quickly released through a waste pipe 68 which may lead to the suction side of the gear ump. The stem of valve 67 is connecte to a iston 69 which moves in 8. cylinder 70 an a spring 71 is provided wh ch tends to hold valve 67 closed. Connected to the end of cylinder 70 is a pipe 72 which leads to a valve casing 73 adjacent segment 64. In valve casing 73 is a valve 74 normally held closed by a spring 75 but which is opened whenever operating handle 63 is in or is moved to the dotted line position which is the starting or low speed position, the arrangement being such that when handle 63 is moved to such position, it strikes the end of the stem of valve 74 and pushes valve 74 open against the action of spring 75. Connected to valve casing 73 on the side of it opposite to that on which ipe 72 connects is a pipe 76 which may ead from any suitable source of fluid premure. When opera-ting handle 63 is in the dotted line position, valve 74 is opened which permits fluid pressure to pass through pipe 72 to cylinder 70 thus opening valve 67 which,

as already stated, relieves any pressure which may exist in cylinder 25 and prevents ressure from ing built up therein. It wi l thusbe seen that as long as operating handle 63 is in the dotted line position the controller will alwa s remain in the ition and thati handle 63 is moved rom a forward position to the dotted line position at a time when the controller is not in the first position, the controller will immediately move to such position.

Considering now the operation of the .mechanism and referring particularly to Fig. 1. assume that the car is running and that the control handle 63 is in the full line position. The gear pump 53 will be operating and supplying fluid under pressure to c 'lindnrs 23 and With the control hunt M63 in the full line position friction why-cl. 1:: will be located quite close to the contdr' of disk 16. This is the highest speed and .i highest engine power position and means that the engine speed a proaches most nearly :firjhat of the norinal speed of the governor. In the case of cyinder 23, sleeve 33 covers hole 29 in stem 27 so that the pmssure supplied to cylinder 23 by pump cannot escape through hole 29. As a result thepressure in cylinder 23 has built up and moved piston 2-lto a position where the end. ofstem 27 is against casin 22. This in turn has moved arm 37 on she. t

9 against the action of sprin 38 to a position which gives full fuel a mission to the engine; In the case of cylinder 25, sleeve 34 covers but a small part of hole 32. As a result the ressure supplied from gear pump 53 to cy inder 25 escapes through hole 32 with the result that no pressure or at least insuflicient ressure has built up back of piston 26 to c act the movement of piston 26, and hence of arm 42 and shaft 41, which movement 0 rates the controller 11. The valves 67- and 4 are both closed.

If now with the parts in the positions described, the speed of the engine 5 increases beyond normal then vernor 13 will operate to raise the left and end of lever 18 and lower the right hand end. The effect of this will be to move both sleeves 33 and 34 downward. In the case of sleeve 33, it moves the upper edge of the sleeve toward hole '29 but this does not afl'ect the position of piston 24 and cylinder 23 because hole 29 will still be covered b sleeve 33. In the case of sleeve 34 the e act is to cause the lower edge of the sleeve to move further over hole 32 and to cover the same entirel if the movement of the vernor is so cient. As a result less fluid or no fluid at all escapes tluough hole 32 so that ressure begins to buildup in cylinder 25 ck of the piston '26. This pressure will move piston 25 downward and upon suilicient movement the controller 11 will be moved one notch as is obvious. The movement of the controller throwsa greater load on the engine with the result that the engine speed will decrease- With decreasev in engine speed, governor 13 will move sleeve 34 u ward which moves the lower edge of e sleeve in a direction to uncover hole 32. At the same time, the downward movement of piston 26 moves stem 30 in adirection to bring hole 32- from under sleeve 34. The result of these movements is that hole 32 will be uncovered to a greater or lesser extent to permit fluid pressure to escape .from behind iston 26 and a balance will be reached tween the fluid su plied to cylinder and that escaping t rough hole 32 which will maintain a certain constant pressure in cylinder 25. If moving the controller one notch has not been sufiicient to lower the engine speed, the operation just described wil be repeated with the result that the controller will be moved another notch. .This ma continue until the controller is in the ast position which would be the position of maximum generator field strengt and arallel connection for the motors. It will noted that durin the movements of the iston 26 just descr ied wherein the contro ler has moved from the first to the last position, iston 24 has not moved (although its contro lin sleeve 33 has, moved downward with contro er sleeve 34) but has remained in a position to give maximum fuel admission to the engine 5.

If when the controller-reaches the last position which means that the end of stem 30 strikes the bottom of casing 22, the engine speed still remains hi h then the vernor will move lever 18 stil farther wi the result that hole 32 will be permanently covered by sleeve 34 because piston 26 can move no farther. By this time, however, the u r edge of sleeve 33 will have reached t e ole 29 and when hole 29 is uncovered fluld pressure will begin to escape from beneath piston 24 with the result that spring 38 will move arm 37 and the piston 24 downward thereby decreasing the amount of fuel delivered to the engine b fuel pump 6 which will result in the spec of the engine being cut down. This will continue until a balance is reached wherein the amount of fuel admitted to the engine maintains it at the speed for which the governor 13 is set. It will thus be seen that upon increased engine speed the controller 11 is first moved to the highest speed position after which the amount 0 fuel admitted to the engine is decreased.

If new the en e begins to fall oil in speed which may due to increase in load, an action opgplfite to that just described takes lace. e sleeves 33 and 34 will be mov upward by the governor 13 with the result that first the amount of fuel delivered to the engine is increased until a maximum is reached after which the controller will be operated to move it toward the first position thus changing the motor connections or weakening the nerator field or birth as the case may be, ereby unloading It W1 thus be seen that the control of fuel to engine 5 and of the movements of controller 11 are entirely taken care of by governor 13 and that the governor elfects such control one after the other. The arrangement is such that hole 29 coiiperates always with the upper edge of sleeve 33 and hole 32 coiiperates always with the lower edge of sleeve 34 and in no case do the sleeves 33 and 34 cover holes 29 and 32 at the same time. There is thus always an outlet for the pressure from pum 53 through either hole 29 or 32. Also spring 38 biases, the piston 24 toward minimum fuel position and spring 43 biases piston 26 toward the first controller position. Therefore, in case the fluid pressure supply from map 53 .should fail springs 38 an 43 w immediately move piston 24 to minimum fuel osition and piston 26 to first cont.-oller position respectively. This means that the structure errs on the side of safety.

If with the control handle 63 in the position shown in the drawing in full lines, i. a, high speed }position, the speed of the car becomes too igh, then the control handle is moved down one or more notches with the result that friction wheel 15 is moved toward the periphery of disk 16. This varies the speed relation between the engine and the governor and the governor speed immedlately increases forcing sleeves 33 and 34 downward which affects the control mechanism in the manner already ex lained bringing the engine down to a s correspondlngato the new setting of the control handle d h f th generator speed an t e wero e engine and hence the speed of tlie-car.

With my proved arrangement, the governor 13 is set to operate at its most efliclent and satisfactory speed for govern and this settin is not disturbed, the ratio between engine and governor speed being obtained by the change speed mechanism, here illustrated as com rising friction wheel 14 and disk 16. By t is arrangement the governor is not required to operate over a wide re. and will be equally sensitive for all an no speeds.

' en the engine is being started the control handle 63 is in the do ted line position so that valves 74 and 67 are open and hence no pressure can be built up in cylinder 25. The controller 11 will, therefore, remain in first open circuit position and the speed governor will operate on the fuel supply only idlin the engine at the lowest practice s to keep it in operation.

While I have illustrated and described the governor as being connected to effect the operation of both the fuel supply means and the controller, it will, of course, be understood that my inventlon is not nrily limited to this double control and that if found desirable I may control only the fuel supply means from the governor and operate the controller means manually, or vice versa.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, I have described the prin- This, of course, decreases the ciple of m invention together with the apparatus w ich I now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof, but I desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is only illustrative and that the invention can be carried out by other means.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:--

1. In a system of the character described, the combination of an engine, an electric generator driven thereb means'for regulating the supply of foe to the engine, controller means for the nerator, a speed governor, means connecting the speed governor to the regulating means and the controller means, a change speed driving means between the engine and the governor, and an operating handle for shifting said change speed driving means.

2. In a system of the character described, the combination of an engine, an electric enerator driven thereby, means for regulatmg the supply of fuel to the engine, controller means for the erator, a speed governor, means connecting the speed governor to the regulating means and the controller means, a disk driven by the engine, a friction wheel connected to the governor and engaging said disk, and an operating handle for varying the distance between the center of the disk and said friction wheel.

3. In a system of thecharacter described, the combination of an engine, an electric generator driven thereby, means for regulating the sup ly of fuel to the engine, controller means For the generator, a speed governor, means connecting the speed governor to the regulating means and the controller means, a change speed driving means between the engine and the governor, an operating handle for shifting said change speed driving means, and means rendering the connection between the speed overnor and the controller means inoperative when the operating handle is moved to a position corresponding to a low engine speed.

4. In a system, of the character described, the combination of an engine, an electric generator driven thereby, means for supplying fuel to the engine, a controller for the generator, means for operating the fuel supplying means and the controller comprising a pair of cylinders with pistons therein, means for supplying fluid pressure to said cylinders, means controlling said supply of fluid pressure whereby the fluid pressure operates said pistons successively, a speed governor connected to said last named means, and a change speed mechanism which connects said governor to the engine.

5. n a system of the character described, the combination of an engine, an electric erator driven thereby, means for supplying fuel to the e, a controller for the generator, a cylin er, apiston in the cylinder operatively connected to said fuel supplying means, a second cylinder, a piston in the second cylinder operatively connected to the controllur, means for supplying fluid under presslne to said cylinders, a stem associated with each 0 linder and provided with a passage throng which fluid pressure may escape, means controlling the escape of fluid pressure thro h such pes, a speed governor connec to said last named means, change speed mechanism connectin the vernor to the engine, and a centre han e for moving said change speed mechamm.

6. In a system of the character described, the combination of an engine, an electric enerator driven thereby, means for supplymg fuel to the en 'ne, a controller for the generator, a cylin er, a piston in the cylinder operatively connected to said fuel supplying means, a second cylinder, a piston in the second cylinder operatively connected to the controller, means for supplying fluid under pressure to said cylinders, a stem associated with each cylinder and provided with a passage through which fluid pressure may escape, means controlling the escape of fluid pressure through such passages, a speed vernor connected to said last named means, c ange speed mechanism connecting the governor to the en 'ne, and a control handle for moving said c ange speed mechanism, the arrangement of the means which controls the escape of fluid pressure through said passages being such that the governor operates such means so that the fuel supplying means and the controller are operated successively. 7. In a system of the character described, the combination of an engine, an electric generator driven thereby, means for supplymg fuel to the engine, a controller fon the generator, a cylin er, a piston in the cyliner operatively connected to said fuel supplying means, a second cylinder, 0. piston in the second cylinder operatively connected to the controller, means -biasing said pistons toward positions of minimum fuel supply and first controller position, means for supplying fluid under pressure to said cylinders to move the pistons, means forming a conduit throu h which fluid may escape from said cylin are, members which control the areas of said conduits, a speed governor connected to said members, and a change speed mechanism through which the governor is driven by the engine.

8. In a system of the character described, the combination of an engine, an electric nerator driven thereby, means for suppl ing fuel to the-en e, a controller for t e nerator, a cylin er, a piston in the cyliner operatively connected to said fuel supplying means, a second cylinder, a piston in the second 1liylinder operatively connected to the contro er, means biam'ng said pistons toward positions of minimum fuel supply and first controller position, means for supplying fluid under pressure to said cylinders to move the pistons, means forming a conduit throu h which fluid may escape from said cylin ers, members which control the areas of said conduits, a speed governor connected to said members, said vemor actuating said members successively whereb variations in the fuel sup ly and the position of the controller ta e place successivel a. change speed mechanism through whic the governor is driven by the engine, and a control lever for adjusting the change speed mechanism.

9. In a system of the character described, the combination of an engine, an. electric generator driven thereby, means forregulatmg the suppl of fuel to the engine controller means or the generator, a speed governor, means connecting said sp governor to the regulating means, a change speed driving means between the engine and the over-nor, and an operating handle for shiftmg said.change speed driving means.

10. In a system of the character described, the combination of an engine, an electric enerator driven thereby, means forregulatm the suppl of fuel to the engine contro ler means or the generator, a speed governor, means connecting said speed governor to the controller means a change speed driving means between th governor, and an operating han Is for shiftmg said change speed driving means.

11. In asystem of the character described, the combination of an engine, an electric generator driven thereby, means for regulat mg the suppl of fuel to the engine tontroller. means or the nerator, a speed governor, means connecting the Speed governor to the regulating means, a isk driven by the engine, a friction wheel connected to the governor and en aging said disk, and an operating handle or varyin the distance between the center of the dis and said friction wheel.

12. In a system of the character described, the combination of an engine, an electric nerator driven thereby, means for regulatmg the supply of fuel to the engine, controller means for thegenerator, a speed governor, means connecting the speed governor to the controller means, a disk driven by the engine, a friction wheel connected to the governor and engaging said disk, and an operating handle for var ing the distance between the center of the isk and said friction wheel.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 14th day of December 1918.

a HERMANN LEMP.

e en 'ne and the 

